Ramblings about knitting, life, exploits, and other things.

June 2012

June 28, 2012

Some day, I'll figure out how to do the minimum for something instead of the full bore project. Today is evidently not that day.

For our Assessment Class, we've been assigned a case study. The teacher provides us with a set of information about a client, and we're to determine what we thing that client might be suffering from. (Please note: We do not diagnose. We are NOT coming up with even a differential diagnosis. That would be BAD. We're only coming up with an assessment about what we think it might be).

Of course, the information we have isn't complete. That's what makes it interesting.

What she has asked for is a simple statement that says, essentially, "I think that Client may be suffering from Condition X. Here's a brief outline of Condition X, what it is, and what we can expect our client to be experiencing."

Of course, to do that, we have to go through and rule out other conditions. It looks very much like "my client" has Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. However, one of the main things they say about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is that the "condition's familiarity could lead a healthcare professional to assume CTS is involved rather than pursuing less known conditions, leading to misdiagnosis." This, of course, inspires me to go through the process of ruling out those other conditions -- in my Case Study.

Somehow, because I'm a citation fanatic, I've amassed 32 citations from the Case Study assignment sheet and our book in what she is expecting to be only a one page report. (Yes, mine is three pages now, but still).

Why can't I just type up my conclusion and be done? What's so wrong with providing incomplete answers?

June 22, 2012

Those of you who know me well know that house-keeping is not my first love. Or my second. Or ... well... much more than my passing acquaintance.

It's true.

I love a clean house.

I hate making and keeping it that way.

I'm like that about a number of things, I guess. I love gardens. I love planning gardens. I love shopping for plants to put in gardens. I even like planting gardens.

I hate tending gardens, weeding gardens, even doing the fall clean up stuff to put gardens to "bed" for the winter, and the spring clean up stuff that gets the gardens ready to wake up and show off again.

Even though it's probably best that I continue to garden this way:

I'm still pretty pleased with the results of my garden planning and planting throughout my yard.

That's from behind the pond I show you so often...

And that's what you see if you turn around, so that the pond is behind you...

And here, we see some of the lilies that survived the past ten years of changes. I planted tons of them... all the way around this fenced area. Then the shrubs became huge...

Recently, I've made a great barter deal with a friend. She doesn't mind gardening at all, so she does that for me, and I do other things that she either hates to or can't do for herself. The gardens and I win on that one. For example:

Last week, this was infested with grass and bind weed and "volunteer" mulberries. Now it's lovely, and inspiring me to buy more plants...

Alas, I have no such barter deal set up for cleaning the house.

I tried for a while having the girls do much of the weekly stuff as chores, for which I paid them allowance. That's starting to fail. The only thing still working that way is basic kitchen care.

So... for the past several weeks, I've been burning that candle at both ends - working so hard on school and then on helping GolfPro with his knee, that I've been neglecting the house. This is bad.

It was really scary. The dust bunnies had grown into gorillas that were lurking in the front hall. And there was paper piling up on every surface -- breeding like rabbits, or mice. I looked around and felt a lot like the "little girl" from the Big Comfy Couch.

;

Unfortunately, the ten second tidy is not going to do the trick. Tomorrow, I'm hosting this big party (it's an annual thing. It's not like I didn't know it was coming). That means that I'll be all freaked out if I let folks see the condition the first floor of my house is in today.

Then, ten days later, I'm hosting my father and much beloved "Evil-Wicked-Stepmother". That means that I'll need the second floor to experience a miraculous recovery from the neglect it's been experiencing of late.

So... today, and tomorrow morning, I'm cleaning. De-cluttering, purging old paper trash, dusting, vacuuming, scrubbing.... even turning the power washer onto the front and back porches. There will also be some cooking ...

Already, there's a difference. This room, for example, no looks like a crazed massage therapy student has been studying there for days....

I'm resisting the urge to order everyone in the house to stay out of there... but it's hard.

Next weekend... I'll be doing it again. Luckily, the first floor should be easier, but I'll still have to tackle the second floor. Ah well. It's good for us, right?

June 21, 2012

Then the week happened at light speed. She's been making great art, and I've been giving massages and learning stuff, but the time has flown by. I can't believe tomorrow is Friday already, and she'll be coming home!.

Monday, I drove Bookworm to Drivers' Ed class, then drove Golf Pro to rehab, then fetched Bookworm back, then went to class. Came home to study. I snuck in some DVR watching with Bookworm (no, we don't watch TV anymore, just the DVR), and went to bed.

Tuesday, I drove Bookworm to class, then had a study session with a classmate, then class .. and came home with too much to do... so much that I wound up missing a board meeting (guilt guilt guilt). I wound up the day by studying, sneaking in a brief appearance at KNIT NIGHT! (yes, I promise, progress pictures), and going back to studying ....

Wednesday, I woke up tired, drove Bookworm to class, gave a massage, attended the final workshop to achieve Level II Mastery in Reiki -- Awesome Experience, but one that left little time to eat before reporting to the school, where I gave three massages at Clinicals. It was a long day -- so long that I was glad to note it was, in fact, the longest day of the year here in the Northern Hemisphere.

Every day seems to be booked solid, with studying filling in all the gaps. I am NOT bored.

But I"m so busy I don't seem to notice the time going past. Tomorrow just seems to be here about the time I've gotten used to it being today. Luckily, the stuff I'm learning is really interesting -- and useful. How fun is that? So often it's either interesting OR useful.

Today was much the same, though after class I went to SAMs club with She Who Finishes Her Family's Knitting. And... my obligation list for the day is shorter -- so it's like a shorter day already (even if we won't be able to tell by the sun unless we're counting seconds).

Tonight, I get to go for a quick dinner with Golf Pro, since we find ourselves ALONE for the evening. But then I have to get back to studying, and cleaning the disaster area that has taken over my house.

And tomorrow .... Kitty comes home!

It will be great to have her back. I can't wait to see the wonderful things she's been painting and drawing at Interlochen.

June 17, 2012

Picture, if you will, a home in which the oldest child is about to embark on her first ever trip away from home all by herself. She's off to camp - to spend a full week focusing on art.

As you might expect, the impending trip means that someone will be looking at the list of required items (I just love that camps tell you what you need; it makes life much simpler). Suitcases will be hauled out of the closet, and then discarded for larger ones when the traveler realizes just how much space all that stuff takes.

And there will be shopping.

I don't care who you are, the likelihood that you have, in your house, right now, all of the things you need to pack for a week at camp is slim unless you just finished shopping. If you've just come back from camp, you're likely to be out of something -- batteries perhaps, but also likely you'll need to replace whatever that thing was that got lost at camp. However, in our house, we've found that packing for camp reveals that there are many things we should have had anyway that we don't.

There will also be revelations about just what is involved in preparing for a long trip. In years past, Mama Shadow did all the preparations, made up the list of things that were needed, bought all the stuff we needed during the week before, and oversaw all the packing and loading. In years past, the ShadowFamily was blissfully oblivious. They simply had to choose their books. This year, Kitty got to learn a bit.

And I got to do last minute shopping things down to the wire. I kid you not. I purchased the last item to go into her suitcase less than an hour before her flight departed.

On Thursday, I told Kitty to take the packing list from camp, and start packing... and urged her to make a list of EVERYTHING she might need, so that as she packed and found that she didn't have some item, she could add it to the list of things we'd need to buy. On Friday, we embarked on the shopping trip. The list was ominously long.

Oddly, the first thing on the list was socks and underwear, thus revealing to me that I do laundry more than I'd thought. If you have enough of those things to make it through each week in daily life, but not enough to make it for a week away when you won't be doing laundry .... well, you do the math.

Thanks to the TSA, of course, we got to buy "trial sizes" of all sorts of things: toothpaste, bodywash, lotion, deodorant..... I know they're only $0.99 each, but that adds up pretty fast when your cart is full of those things. Luckily, we escaped that effort for shampoo and conditioner, since we wisely have travel sized bottles in house.

Because it's art camp, we had to buy an Art Box into which to put the paints, pencils, erasers, brushes, pens, etc. that are the artist's tools. This box, of course, has to be just the right size. Not too big, else it won't fit in the suitcase; not too small, else it won't hold all the supplies. And it has to have the right sort of organizing divisions. I was lucky ... I managed to find the right source for said box in our first store (which was, in fact, the store I practically had to pay her to go into; she was certain it would be a waste of time). I was luckier still in that the necessary portfolio with which to transport her art was in the same store!

We shopped for several hours, and managed to avoid arguments the whole afternoon, then returned home. I told her to pack the suitcase, and when it had everything in it, we'd fetch the boyfriend for dinner. Why so fussy? Well, her flight left at 9:05 a.m. Saturday. This meant that we had to be at the airport by 8:15 a.m. to make sure that her bag was checked etc. (and to let me pay the check baggage fee (both ways)), and make sure that she made it through security in time etc. (I hate to think how early we'd have needed to be there if we lived in a city!). Kitty is emphatically not a morning person, so I knew that the suitcase had to be 100% done before I went to bed, or we'd never make it.

After dinner, I sat down with Kitty and the list, and for each item on it, I asked whether it was, in fact, in the suitcase. This meant that the boyfriend wound up lurking about watching movies on the TV with Bookworm while Kitty discovered how many things she'd forgotten to actually put in the suitcase. Like sheets. Oh, and a blanket.

Then, at 10:30 p.m., we drove the boyfriend home, and on our way back at 10:45, we had a conversation in which we discovered that she needed a padlock. Seriously. Even though she knew that they'd have lockers, but that she needed to provide the lock, it didn't occur to her to put the lock on the list of things she'd need. (Well, the camp didn't put the lock on their list either, so I suppose I can cut her some slack).

Thank heavens for all night drug stores -- we were able to purchase the padlock.

In the morning, I learned that though she has a flashlight, she'd been using it to read in bed for the past several weeks. Can you guess what this means about its AAA batteries? Yeah. So, we left early for the airport and were grateful that WalMart is open at 8:00 a.m.

I'm not sure Kitty was fully awake when we sent her through the TSA line. That meant that she was moving pretty slowly. Luckily for her, I suppose, the line moved more slowly than I'd ever seen one move. (Again, oh so grateful not to be doing this in a big city). Here she goes -- into the evil xray thing about which I will not blog today.

I was sure that my role as travel facilitator was over once she got through that thing. But alas, no.

When she boarded the wee plane, they determined that since she had the coveted single window seat, she did not have enough room to stow her carry-on bag (note, it's the smallest rolling bag I've seen that wasn't a child's toy-sized bag). They relieved her of it (I'm thinking it was the flight attendant), but did not give her a receipt of any kind, and she didn't know that she'd need to fetch it from the flight attendant -- and so looked for it in the gate way when she got off the plane. It wasn't there. This was troubling on many levels, most significantly to her -- it had her itinerary in it.

Two phone calls later (thank you cell phones), she had recovered the bag, and found her gate -- in O'hare! My facilitating duties were then, finally, over.

She texted on arrival in Traverse City, and has since texted that all is well. I likely won't hear from her again until she's chosen the coveted T-shirt.

I am pleased (and not surprised) that she successfully made it through changing planes in O'Hare, and finding the folks from camp. But, as moms are wont to be, I'm a little sad to see my firstborn stretching her wings. In barely more than a year, she'll be starting college. And the next thing I know, she'll be living on her own, out in the wild world. snif.

June 15, 2012

I hear that title in the fake German accent from some old comedic film "Ve haf ze papers...."

Perhaps this is so because this whole thing feels like a farce.

In order to get the document that one needs to show to get your Social Security Card replaced, we had to get Kitty's social security card replaced. (okay, one of the possible documents you need, but the preferred one -- your Driver's License).

And in order to get my current college to issue my certification in MY NAME when I graduate, I had to have a copy of my marriage license. Seriously. I had to order it to prove that my legal name is now my legal name.

Why?

Well, you see, way back in 1981, I took a class at the same Community College through which I'm now studying Massage Therapy. Yes, one class. (Accounting Principles 101). So, they have permanently connected my SSN to my maiden name.

The fact that I took another class in 2006, for which I registered under my married name is irrelevant. They did not then change my name in their system. I get that. It was a four-hour workshop called "Couple's Massage" in which Golf Pro and I learned some basic strokes. No tests, no grades, no affect on my transcript...

But now, I need the name on my Certification to match the name on my photo ID (yes, my driver's license). My driver's license (which shows both my name and my social security number) is insufficient to prove that my name was legally changed -- even though I had to produce my marriage certificate to get my name changed on the license. (Not only that, my married name is actually my maiden name PLUS my husband's last name, so the old name is still there.... ya know...) Anyway, my passport, which shows my married name -- and that it was changed from my maiden name, for which I also had to produce the marriage certificate, is also inadequate. The only document that the school will accept is a CERTIFIED marriage license.

This means that a document issued by the state in which the school exists is no good (Ignoring political commentary, especially those involving our past Governors). A document issued by the Federal Government is no good (we will ignore all of the political remarks). Instead, they want a document issued by a state with no ties to the school, in which I've never lived.....

I'm detecting a theme here. I'm pretty sure I don't like it either. Luckily, we now have in our possession all the magic documents we need to get the other documents we need to do the next thing we want to do.

Yes, today, the wonderful people at the post office delivered ze papers....

Kitty will be able to drive a car (and get on a plane), and I will be able to take my National Certification Exam once I've graduated.... because my ID and my Certificate from the school will MATCH!

Here's hoping no one changes the rules about ze papers in the next few months.

June 12, 2012

Tonight, I'm going to ramble on in a whiny way about some of the frustrations of parenting teenagers. Perhaps its because I'm trying to balance the gloaty stuff (as in my High School Senior is taking a COLLEGE class now). Perhaps it's just because it's been a tough couple of days.

Sometimes, parenting seems like an endless circle of "you can do no right," looping interminably with a leminscate of "it's never enough."

Usually, those times come along when your kids are making another step towards adulthood (and independence). Unless, of course, they come along when your kids are having another wee moment of regression -- falling back to regroup before progressing again.

For example, as your kids get older, you (reasonably in your eyes) begin to expect them to take on part of the responsibility for getting what they want. If Child wants to take a park district class, and Child is, say 10, you're likely to call up the park district, confirm the times and places, and ask them whether the child will need any special clothing or shoes or supplies. If Child is 15, you may ask Child to find out whether there are any special clothing, shoe or supply needs -- and to find out what those requirements are.

When Child was 10, this stuff just happened. When Child is 15, Child is just as likely to say "sure Mom," and make the phone call coming back with some but not all of the information as Child is to get all the information about clothing, shoe and supply needs along with a list of the places that carry what he or she needs. And either of those is as likely as Child looking at you like you've grown a second (or third) head and asking something like "How am I supposed to do THAT?"

So, agreeing to pay for a class isn't enough (there's the equipment too, right). Agreeing to pay for the class and buying the supplies won't be enough. Trust me on this -- the basic supplies will be "lame" and if you dont' agree to pony up for the special extras that cost twice as much, you'll be lame too. If a leotard is in order, she'll ask for dance shorts (and extra $30.00).

And don't forget, you've agreed to drive Child to the class and pick Child up again after killing the hour and a quarter between the start and finish of the class. And that isn't really enough either. Trust me on this. Child will either want to be early, or be offended at having to hang around for ten whole minutes before class. Ditto picking Child up after class-- if you're not right on time, Child is offended because Child hates WAITING. Unless, of course, you are right on time, then Child will be irritated that you're depriving her (or him) of time to hang with her friends (yes, those people she complained about last week because she didn't know anyone, and everyone was lame).

Take note: It is wholly unacceptable for the Parent to keep the Child waiting ... even for two or three minutes ... when the Child is ready to go. Trust me ... Child will tell you this. However, it is completely unreasonable to ask Child to keep an eye out for your car, or to be outside where you can see him/her when you arrive, so that Child will be ready to get in within a minute or two of your arrival. How CAN you ask such a thing?? Can't you see that Child is busy?? Child is SOCIALIZING!!! You can wait .... and you should text when you get there -- Child will check her phone every so often to see .... but will not pay attention to the fact that she has chosen the dead spot in the building, where there is no cell reception, to hang out waiting for you. Child will eventually come looking for you once the all-important friends leave. Bring a book next time.

More fun, of course, is communication about impending transportation issues.

It is not possible to say, "Mom, can you give me a ride to the library at around 1:00? I'd like to meet Friend, who will be waiting for me there." Instead, your teen will say "Can you take me to the library this afternoon? And can we pick up Friend there to bring Friend home with us".

If you've said yes, and then have the temerity to want to take a shower at 12:40 because you'd been cleaning, or gardening, or what have you all morning, they'll be miffed that you're not leaving instead of stepping into the shower. But they will not tell you that they're miffed because they'd set a time to meet Friend. They won't tell you that until you're LATE!!! as you get into the car at 1:30. And they'll fume and snarl all the way to the library.

I do not remember it working this way when I was a teenager. Of course, I was a teenager

Tonight, I'm going to ramble on in a whiny way about some of the frustrations of parenting teenagers. Perhaps its because I'm trying to balance the gloaty stuff (as in my High School Senior is taking a COLLEGE class now). Perhaps it's just because it's been a tough couple of days.

Sometimes, parenting seems like an endless circle of "you can do no right," looping interminably with a leminscate of "it's never enough."

Usually, those times come along when your kids are making another step towards adulthood (and independence). Unless, of course, they come along when your kids are having another wee moment of regression -- falling back to regroup before progressing again.

For example, as your kids get older, you (reasonably in your eyes) begin to expect them to take on part of the responsibility for getting what they want. If Child wants to take a park district class, and Child is, say 10, you're likely to call up the park district, confirm the times and places, and ask them whether the child will need any special clothing or shoes or supplies. If Child is 15, you may ask Child to find out whether there are any special clothing, shoe or supply needs -- and to find out what those requirements are.

When Child was 10, this stuff just happened. When Child is 15, Child is just as likely to say "sure Mom," and make the phone call coming back with some but not all of the information as Child is to get all the information about clothing, shoe and supply needs along with a list of the places that carry what he or she needs. And either of those is as likely as Child looking at you like you've grown a second (or third) head and asking something like "How am I supposed to do THAT?"

So, agreeing to pay for a class isn't enough (there's the equipment too, right). Agreeing to pay for the class and buying the supplies won't be enough. Trust me on this -- the basic supplies will be "lame" and if you dont' agree to pony up for the special extras that cost twice as much, you'll be lame too. If a leotard is in order, she'll ask for dance shorts (and extra $30.00).

And don't forget, you've agreed to drive Child to the class and pick Child up again after killing the hour and a quarter between the start and finish of the class. And that isn't really enough either. Trust me on this. Child will either want to be early, or be offended at having to hang around for ten whole minutes before class. Ditto picking Child up after class-- if you're not right on time, Child is offended because Child hates WAITING. Unless, of course, you are right on time, then Child will be irritated that you're depriving her (or him) of time to hang with her friends (yes, those people she complained about last week because she didn't know anyone, and everyone was lame).

Take note: It is wholly unacceptable for the Parent to keep the Child waiting ... even for two or three minutes ... when the Child is ready to go. Trust me ... Child will tell you this. However, it is completely unreasonable to ask Child to keep an eye out for your car, or to be outside where you can see him/her when you arrive, so that Child will be ready to get in within a minute or two of your arrival. How CAN you ask such a thing?? Can't you see that Child is busy?? Child is SOCIALIZING!!! You can wait .... and you should text when you get there -- Child will check her phone every so often to see .... but will not pay attention to the fact that she has chosen the dead spot in the building, where there is no cell reception, to hang out waiting for you. Child will eventually come looking for you once the all-important friends leave. Bring a book next time.

More fun, of course, is communication about impending transportation issues.

It is not possible to say, "Mom, can you give me a ride to the library at around 1:00? I'd like to meet Friend, who will be waiting for me there." Instead, your teen will say "Can you take me to the library this afternoon? And can we pick up Friend there to bring Friend home with us".

If you've said yes, and then have the temerity to want to take a shower at 12:40 because you'd been cleaning, or gardening, or what have you all morning, they'll be miffed that you're not leaving instead of stepping into the shower. But they will not tell you that they're miffed because they'd set a time to meet Friend. They won't tell you that until you're LATE!!! as you get into the car at 1:30. And they'll fume and snarl all the way to the library.

I do not remember it working this way when I was a teenager. Of course, I was a teenager, so my perceptions are likely to be pretty skewed. (Mom, if you're reading this -- feel free to reveal the truth in the comments. If my perceptions are valid, I'll be vindicated; if not, I'm tough enough to face the bitter truth (maybe)).

By the time I was 15, I was pretty much getting myself anywhere I needed to go, or even wanted to go. Of course, when I was 15, almost everywhere I wanted to go was a fairly easy bike ride away. Every now and then, I'd need to take a bus -- but the bus always went where I was headed. By the time I was 16, not only were the bike and the bus reliable alternatives, but half my friends had cars (and the rules about not driving with more than one person under the age of 18 in the car with you weren't implemented yet).

My children have been spoiled utterly -- partly because I have been home to do it, and partly because we live so far away from the school (5.1 miles walking, 5.4 - 6.8 miles by car) and the library (5.3 miles walking, 5.6 miles by car) and the mall (7.7 miles walking, 9 miles driving) and most of their friends. They've had access to a car and driver for most things. Sure, Kitty has mastered the fine art of taking the bus home from the library --

but she's not yet mastered the equally fine art of taking the bus FROM home.

Breaking them free of the dependency on their "car and driver"

(mom and the station wagon), is proving to be quite difficult. Despite that impending push for independence from the Driver (as they get ever closer to being licensed drivers), I am a little afraid of how it's going to look when they no longer need the Driver. I'm anticipating lots of skirmishes over whether I need the Car more than they "need" the car. I'm not anticipating much in the way of offers to pay for the insurance or gas or .... tires or headlights or oil....

June 07, 2012

it was still true that your Social Security card said right there on it that it wasn't to be used for identification purposes. (When we started with Social Security Cards, we were still more than a little bit nervous about the way identification papers were being/had been being used in certain European Countries).

Now... the story is clearly very different. Which I find to be more than a little disturbing -- and once I get over today's frustration, I'll likely also find it amusing.

Today we went to the DMV with the intent of replacing my suddenly missing Driver's License, and having Kitty take the DRIVING test to get her Driver's License. We were foiled in this attempt because evidently, your Social Security Card is vital to obtaining any documents that you can use for identification. Alas, while I could find MY Social Security card (but not my drivers license), and Bookworm's Social Security Card, and Golf Pro's Social Security Card and even Golf Pro's old draft card -- we still can't find Kitty's Social Security Card. Today's trip to the DMV yielded only a replacement for my drivers license (for which I even did my make-up and hair etc. in an attempt to avoid a zombie photo, only to have them reprint the old one).

In order to get a Driver's License you have to prove your identity. That seems reasonable, until they get so tied up in their rules that you trip over them. Oddly, More important than your identity is proof of residency (you need two documents that prove that, but only one for your identity). To get my replacement license, I produced a current Passport and my voters registration card.

Alas, Kitty's passport has expired. Evidently when that happens, not only is the Passport no good for travel outside the country, but the information on it becomes invalid, since you can't use it for anything.

So, for Kitty to get a Illinois State ID/Driver's License she needed to "provideproof of legal name, date of birth, Social Security number and residency (twice)". They have four groups of documents: one provides something for them to do a signature comparison, one provides verification of your date of birth, one (okay TWO, since they need duplication here) provides proof of your Illinois address/residency, and one..... verifies your social security number.

To get an Illinois Driver's PERMIT, you need to provide proof of identity and residency. It's confusing as to whether they require proof of your social security number. I know that Kitty's permit record DOES have her social security number in it, but I don't recall whether she had to show the card then or not.

The best document to get your Illinois Driver's License appears to be your Illinois Driver's License. But without that, your birth certificate is good for proving age (as is a Driver's License, or a valid Passport). To prove residency you can use -- your Driver's License or State ID, or a bank statement, or a certified High School or College transcript (got one), or a tuition bill (got one) or report card or...things no-one under 18 will have. To verify your signature you can use ... your Driver's License, your Social Security Card* or your Driver's Ed certificate (is that a Driver's Permit?) or your Passport (note, it's not clear whether this one needs to be "valid" since the list is silent about validity) or a bunch of things 17 year olds aren't likely to have. But to verify your social security number, you either need the Driver's License or State ID you're trying ot get, or...your Social Security Card, of course. Well, they will accept a couple of other things to verify your social security number ... all of which require military service.

Please note that Kitty's Drivers PERMIT record includes her social security number, but evidently they don't VERIFY the social security number with the SSA for PERMITS. So, while they have a proto-driver's license record, it's not good enough.

I tried bringing tax returns - Federal and State. They clearly show her name, address, and social security number. No good. We had no choice but to go to the Social Security office to apply for a replacement card. First, of course, we looked through every file in the house. We've looked through most drawers in the house. I touched every piece of paper on my desk. And finally, we trekked over to the Social Security office.

In order to obtain a social security card, you have to prove your identity. That means you have to bring some documentation. Here is what they say:

"Identity: We can accept only certain documents as proof of identity. An acceptable document must be current (not expired) and show your name, identifying information and preferably a recent photograph. Social Security will ask to see a U.S. driver’s license, state-issued non-driver identification card or U.S. passport as proof of identity." (emphasis added). If you don't have any of those, they'll accept other things -- like a school ID, but they really prefer state ID, Driver's License or Passport.

To get one document we need the document that you need the first document to get. My head is spinning in circles.

Now, the Social Security folks are pretty reasonable. They will accept other things. But to get your Drivers License.... the Department of Motor Vehicles will only accept your social security card as proof of your Social Security number, which is document that you can use your Drivers license to get. They won't even accept a letter from the Social Security Administration that identifies your name and social security number (which kind of sounds like the Social Security Administration has verified the number to me. We have that letter now, but the DMV says it's not good enough).

As it turns out, we were able to order the new Social Security Card by producing a High School ID and telling the nice staff member Kitty's social security number. Of course, that doesn't yield up the card itself, which they'll MAIL to us. It's necessary to get an ID, but they don't actually check to see who receives it as long as we showed ID to get it? That makes sense. I mean why make sure that the one document everyone wants to see in order to give you a state ID of any kind actually gets to the right person?

We've been told the following things about when we can expect to receive the replacement card:

By the woman who answered the phone at the local office: 7-10 days after the application is processed.By the woman who answered the phone at the 800 number: 3-5 days if we do the application in person.By the woman who actually looked at our documents in the local office: 2- 14 days.

We're crossing our fingers and toes that it takes no more than 7 days - if it's here in 7 days, we might have a licensed driver before she leaves town -- making the whole getting-on-an-airplane thing much easier. (Luckily -- you don't actually need ID if you're under 18).

Meanwhile, I'm thinking of taking all the other cards to the bank so we can lock them up in the safety deposit box. (Of course, that would mean I'd lose the key).

June 05, 2012

I blinked, and time seems to have gone into fast-forward mode. (Well, for everything except the healing rate on Golf Pro's knee, which is going apace, but which is a slow process).

Yesterday, I took my finals for the Spring Semester. At least it feels that way. Then there was the Mid-Term that I've somehow already taken for the Early Summer, and in three days I'll be taking another final! Huh? Four week courses are mind blowing that way. (And yet, it doesn't seem like I've been cramming information into my brain...)

Last week, Kitty was taking her first clarinet lesson, and gearing up for middle school.

Yesterday, it seems, I had to face the reality that both of my daughters are in high school.

Last week, Bookworm was working on bridging the gap from riding a tricycle to riding a bicycle with training wheels...

Next week, Bookworm starts the classroom portion of Drivers' Ed.

Last week, Kitty was buidling small things with Lego's

This week, she will be taking her drivers test.

Last week, Gramma was reading stories to Kitty

..... Next week, she will start a dual credit course at the local Community College. That means that in seven days she'll begin earning COLLEGE credit!

June 03, 2012

For the past nine months, I've been studying the body and muscles and how the muscles connect to the bones and all that good stuff. I've learned the names of enough muscles that I don't feel like counting them right now, and have discovered that I still have many more to learn if I want to know them all.

I've learned where and how those muscles attach to the bones they move. And I've learned what these muscles do. All of that through books, or generic exercises in the classroom. Lately, I've started a project with a classmate in which we're going back through the old muscle book and learning to palpate each muscle. It's really helping me learn them.

Recently, things have gotten much more personal, and I've skipped ahead from the shoulders (where we had started) to the legs (but no palpation is involved just yet):

It all started when Golf Pro was lured onto a softball team in a league for guys over 50. He's in better shape than most 40 year olds, still runs regularly, and used to play baseball and softball before he focused in on golf. He'd actually been pretty much of a star on his High School baseball team, and played on work related softball teams when he was a young'un fresh out of college. Thus, joining a bunch of guys for softball twice a week seemed like a reasonable and fun thing to do.

He no longer thinks so. Evidently, senior softball is a dangerous sport -- one that has been particularly unkind to Golf Pro's Quadriceps Tendon.

Let's pause, for a moment and take a wee look at the quads and their tendon (with thanks to Floota.com for this image.)

As you can see, the Rectus Femoris transitions from a nice red muscle to a nice white tendon, which then attaches to the Patella (or knee cap). You can also see that it spreads a bit to either side of the patella, and extends beyond it. Here's another view of that tendon. (with a nod to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, from which this image comes). You will note that it passes over the patella, and continues on to hook into the Tibia (shinbone).

That second attachment is what enables you to straighten your leg.

Thanks to an unlucky step in a softball game, Golf Pro managed to tear that tendon. Completely.

The first thing this means is pain. Lots of PAIN. The next thing it means, once you've gotten over the pain, and very impressive swelling around the knee that is your body's attempt to protect you, is that you can no longer straighten your leg. (Oh yes, and more pain).

After several days of hoping that this pain was just a strain, he went to see the Ortho Guys at our local clinic. While I may complain and fret about the billing side of this clinic, it's awfully hard not to shout kudos from the rooftops to the rest of the gang. Golf Pro arrived at 9:15 a.m. for an x-ray, preparatory to a 9:45 doctor's appointment. They swiftly diagnosed the problem, scheduled him for surgery, sent him over to the other building, where they prepped him, and operated. He was awake and able to talk to me on the phone by 2:30 and I was able to pick him up from the surgi-center and get him home and installed in his recliner (with extra pillows to elevate and cushion his splinted leg) before 5:00 p.m. That's five hours from diagnosis to end of surgical repair in a NON-Emergency situation. I'm impressed.

I was also pleased with the doc, who explained the whole surgical process to me. I won't bore you with it, but suffice it to say that drills were involved.

Recovery involves doing wee exercises that sound silly, but which keep you from having blood clots (which I for one count as a good thing). It looks like this:

Why do that? Well, doing that moves the venous blood from your feet, up your leg and well into the venous system. Your blood pressure only moves it as far as your capillaries -- your muscles movement is actually what moves it from the capillaries back to the heart. If you're not walking (which, um, one doesn't do for a while after this kind of knee surgery), you don't have much muscle movement. This at least works the muscles in your calf.

But that gets into a different physiology lesson.... we'll keep that for later.

Once the stitches come out, I should be able to help with massage ....